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Review:

Misty_Rey says:It's been awhile since I reviewed something so apologies in advance if my reviewing skills are rusty.

I really enjoy stories that fill in the gaps from JKR's books. Sirius' departure from his family and home was a premise I was especially intrigued by. I thought you set up a strong opening, with him preparing to leave. It was a different route than I expected, him leaving without any real catalyst or huge blow-out but it does fit in with his slightly gypsy personality to sneak out and disappear.

When you got to the writing desk, the suspense picked up and when out sprung that gut-wrenching bloody scene, I was mouthing OMG to myself because it honestly caught me off guard and I like being surprised.

The glimpse of his mother at the end was a unique touch and seemed to hint that she was afraid of the writing desk herself. You gave her some humanity, which was rare and refreshing to read.

If I had one nitpick and this is probably only a personal preference, I would have liked maybe more elaboration, particularly on his feelings of leaving behind his parents and Regulus forever. It came across as detached which certainly is the impression Sirius gave in the books. Also on the nightmare scene, it was a shock to the heart and I'm probably being greedy in wanting more.

Overall though, this was a true one-shot, wonderfully capturing one moment in the HP-universe that was defining for Sirius Black.

~Misty

Author's Response: Hello, thanks for stopping by :)

I've written Sirius's departure in several stories and it's intriguing to me how different it can feel with each attempt. In this story, I wanted to give the sense that this decision was a long time coming, so much so that it felt as natural to Sirius as breathing. Maybe it was a defense mechanism for helping him deal with how monumental his actions really were.

I'm glad the fear for both Sirius and Walburga was palpable and the gore was a bit of a surprise. That's what I was going for! As for your nitpick, I could definitely expand it in certain places--were it not for the word limit imposed by the challenge :) But I appreciate the tip, definitely!